Ending a Storm
by rikufanattic
Summary: He's trying not to give up, and neither is she. He is still alive and she wants to show him. She knows the vampire would die for Bella, and yet he's still alive he can't give up her ghost, he loves Bella's memories. major EdwardxBella EdwardxOC possibly
1. Chapter 1

**_A/N: _**Hell froze over, considering I'm doing a non canon pairing... _gasp_ and it's from Twilight! All right so I might get flamed, I'm entirely sure that I will by some devoted EdwardxBella forever fans, don't get me wrong I respect Meyer's and her writing, but somehow the romance didn't strike me as something to fall in head over heels, and I haven't read Twilight in ages, considering I bought none of her books, but my local Library has her series and I did read them.

To each their own though, so flames and comments do your stuff.

**_Summary: _**Ending a storm is down right impossible, especially if that storm is coming from Edwards Cullen's heart. It makes you wonder who is left to calm down the storm, some poor sap probably, but what are friends for? EdwardxOC

**Ending a Storm**

There he sat, the melancholy figure drenching himself in the rain, in some stupid attempt to somehow let his pain just wash away. How funny, and yet so human it was that it brought a small tear to this non-existent heart of mine. How long had he been there on that green park bench? How many times did he walk out into the rain in the hopes to somehow just be washed of what he calls a sin? How many times did he think of her? More than I could probably count in my entire lifetime.

"Edward…" I said softly watching the dim color in his gold colored eyes, he would need to feed soon. "You've been there for two hours already… your clothing, it's going to well, you know, get ruined…"

He seemed distant now, all contact I tried to make with him just went in one ear and out the other, it was really starting to annoy me, but I tried my best to keep my emotions under wraps, he needed comfort from someone. Still it was strange that he didn't go to his own coven for this, maybe because all of them were attached to her in someway and it pained him as he could read their thoughts. Someone like me didn't have those memories, nor would I know how to cope with him if I ever met her.

He looked up slightly noticing the black umbrella that hovered over his head and he looked down at the ground. The droplets of sky water fell against the protective covering and slide down the sides. I didn't need the umbrella, he needed it for himself and his heart somehow. I already had an umbrella literally so to speak. This gentle vampire didn't speak at all, but his body language said it all. '_I miss her…_' that's what was going through my head, I could sense what he was thinking by his language in posture, his eyes seemed distant as if he was thinking back to a memory.

"You're never lost someone…" he whispered, it was low. I still heard it despite the rain.

I sighed for a moment and looked up at the black sky, at least he spoke to me instead of just drifting off into another memory, but I didn't know what to say. He wasn't his calm and collected self anymore, that piece probably died off with him some time ago. '_She's been gone for some time now, Edward…_' I thought, and I noticed the vampire shift in his seat, his grip on the umbrella seemed to loosen. I heard him growl, but I didn't back down.

"You have to understand something. Mr. Cullen," I said softly. "She would not want you to live your life like that…"

"But _she_ _was my life_," I don't know how many times I heard that same line over the past couple of weeks. "I lived for her, and only her, protecting her, giving her happiness…"

"But you have to live your own life now Edward…" I said sternly. "I know she meant much to you, I know she did, but think of what she would want for you. This isn't a 'Romeo and Juliet' thing anymore, this is reality Edward, and you're not living in a dream…" I whispered. Somehow maybe my words hit his non-existent heart considering I heard him growl more, I was just trying to wake him up.

"You don't understand…" he said in his defense. "There was a point that I couldn't live without her, I was depressed, and I would curl myself into a ball..."

"You fell in love with her because of her scent and it was like a drug for you, you craved her to the point where you felt that it was love," I said rubbing the back of my head. "That's hardly enough to justify what you just said, it was all too quick for a normal relationship to start, even if you aren't normal. You wanted her scent, and it wasn't until that business with that tracker did you start to gradually realize that you did truly love her… That's from my own viewpoint on what you told me…"

"…" there he went back into his little ball.

He immersed himself in his own world with Bella's smile and laughter, her touches and her kisses, her caress and her whispers. Maybe he was thinking back to when their roles switched when he became the old fashioned woman and she was the modern man when it came to marriage and sex. Whatever kind of action that took place was best left for his memory and his alone.

"Until the time is up I can't give up on you…" I whispered softly thinking back to a song I had heard recently. It caught his attention, I could hear what seemed like a small chuckle or something from his 'velvet' voice. I rolled my eyes and leaned the open umbrella on my shoulder. "I haven't heard you play the piano… Or did that die when she left as well?"

He didn't say anything, and again it just pushed him father into the little ball of darkness that he had created. I wasn't trying to push him away, but he was rather difficult to deal with especially in the rain. I sighed and apologized, somehow the words would reach him later, and with that the two of us just sat there in the rain watching things move so slowly. The clouds weren't moving so much, but there was wind as it moved the rain to the side as it fell.

"And so the lion fell in love with the lamb…" I said noticing his eyes, they seemed to be making a hole in my own eyes. "You said that once… to her, am I right?" I chuckled. "You really are something Edward Cullen, tell me, what was she like… You never talk about her as much…"

"An angel… beautiful, clumsy…" he chuckled thinking back to a happier time from what was on his face. "She was everything I wanted…"

"That and her scent must have been intoxicating…" I said noticing a small smile on his lips.

"More than you could ever now… she was incredibly sweet, a little stubborn sometimes and well, she was Bella. That's what describes her… Though to be honest I loved her full name despite the fact that she didn't but I was happy to please her even if that meant calling Bella. I think you would've liked her…"

"I probably would've had more fun analyzing her…" I said thinking about it for a moment. "What made her tick… not to be mean but seriously some of things she did were rash…"

"You may call them rash…"

"No, stupid is more like it…" I said. "But, you loved her and it didn't matter so long as she tried to keep himself out of harms way… you know how that went." I said quickly before I angered him again. "But true, I might of liked her just like Alice did. I'm still wondering why you didn't talk to Seth Clearwater about this…"

"He has connections to Bella as well…" Edward said dryly. "Besides you're a psychologist…"

"You only found me out because of my profession, Edward Anthony Masen Cullen I am truly appalled…" I said closing my eyes. "And here I thought we were friends…"

"You are a friend…" he said quickly, he could probably see all the flashbacks that were playing in my mind. "Besides you have something…" he paused for a moment.

"So that's what it was really about then…" I said letting the rain take its course, it started to drown out my words as I looked away. '_Was it stupid to think that you would get over this…?_' I asked myself, I didn't care if Edward read my mind he was just being a jerk, just like the last time when he had done an unforgivable act to Bella in my eyes. "It did strike me as odd when you said you wanted to talk to me in person…" I looked back at the permanent 17 year old. "But… as a friend, I'm not upset, well a little, that's true, but I'm not going to push you out or anything of that sort…"

Again there was silence between us, I wasn't treating him like a some patient but more as a friend. I had stayed with him for about two months, and somehow time moved fairly quickly with the two of us throughout those 60 days, but today things seemed to slow down as if we were the only two beings in existence. I didn't know how to cope with him, sure I had seen my fair share of losses, but not the way he described his. Sometimes I couldn't help a person and so that was my loss, others didn't want to change and continued with their behavior, and again I would lose.

People weren't passing by this side of the park, considering it was still raining late into the night, no normal sane person would walk into the park in the night let alone when it was raining. I stood up and looked back at Edward Cullen, it depressed me just watching him there, it was as if his world had suddenly fallen around him. Maybe I was being heartless but he was still _alive_ I wanted him to understand that. He blocked my hand as I was going to grab his wrist.

The rain continued to fall amongst the trees and the earth, along the concrete and the muddy dirt that led to a beautiful trail, I had seen it once with Edward, but its beauty was in full bloom at the morning hours and probably magnified when the sun was high up in the blue and white canvas known to this race as the sky. I began to walk away, I didn't end the session, but I did not care if Edward followed, he could sit moping in the rain if he wanted to. The shoes began to create ripples as I walked and I looked down at the ground, each ripple branched off.

"Maybe your heart is having a ripple effect…" I said and looked back to expect to see the 17 year old sitting on the green colored bench. He wasn't there this time. "How can you cure an ailing heart of a vampire when they don't even have a beating heart to begin with…?"

In front of me there stood my _friend_, he didn't seem tense at least not at the moment. He started walking in the rain letting the umbrella shield him this time around. Did he feel lost? Did he need her pulling at him and hugging him to feel secure? Was she his compass in life? And if that was so, he would need to change to live his life like she wanted him to. He would need to wake up with no hesitation; he would have to hear her say that to him.

"That's why…" I mouthed out and felt a snarl etch on my face. "But if that's what you wish…" I mouthed out silently and walked after him.

"I'm sorry, if my reason upsets you…" he said in a hoarse whisper, he hadn't forgotten emotion. "It goes against what you practice considering that to you it may not seem like an extreme case."

"To me my friend's, my companions, are cases I can not overlook, and as such I do label them an extreme case… So don't worry about that Edward, I'll help you till I can't help you anymore." I said. The rain was beginning to turn into a light drizzle and maybe it was a sign that I shouldn't overlook. "I never would've thought that the well known Edward would be asking help from a lowly psychologist…"

"You are not…lowly…" he said, almost as if he thought the word would offend me. "You are… well a good friend. You shouldn't think so low of yourself. You're suppose to help people, and the only way you can is by helping yourself first, remember?"

I laughed, it was a real laugh, and so far my sense of humor had not left me after all those years. If my laugh had pleased him, then I did a good deed even if it was a small one, and it made me think, maybe he should take his advice once in a while as well if he didn't want to hear it from me. Two individuals walking in the rain with the help of their own umbrellas, I doubt this would be ethical from my profession, but it made him feel better. I could see it in his step, it wasn't as 'heavy' so to speak, little by little there was an imaginary chisel breaking away the stone that was on his shoulders.

"Should we take the usual route?" I asked catching up with him.

"If you mean that coffee establishment…" he said.

"That very one Edward…" I said laughing again.

I hadn't laughed so much, in a while I needed to at least have one friend with me to make me feel happy. I missed company but I was the one who decided to keep a distance when I wasn't working, so if was my own fault I suppose.

The grass was beginning to collect raindrops from what I could see, and the trees were letting gravity take its course as the raindrops that fell then slid onto the already damp grass. Nature was beautiful, something that no being should take for granted and yet they do and it saddens me to a degree. There's nothing to do but just watch as humanity tries to go forward for the better, if it is not for the better, then they will realize the worst at the end.

"You shouldn't think like that…" the young Cullen boy said. "You're supposed to be the doctor."

"Of what, humanity?" I asked. "I'm just here to try, I'm not a miracle worker Mr. Cullen, do well to remember that."

As we walked out of the park we saw several cars pass by, and one car caught the young boy's attention, I could tell his body tensed watching the sporty Mercedes-Benz s600 Guard station itself at a red spotlight. If he were a human, his throat would feel dry and then a memory would start to sink in, but for Edward he could not have his throat dry it was impossible, he was cold but a memory did sink in. I sighed for a moment and watched the car move past the two of us, splashing some water on our pant legs. '_Stupid celebrity…_' I thought to myself and imagined slashing the tires of that precious car and denting the hood with a baseball bat.

"Only diplomats or celebrities, the higher-ups in general, have cars like that…" I said groaning in disgust as I noticed a muddy stain on my left pant leg. I watched the red taillight of the car as it disappeared amongst a crowd of cars off in the distance. "Sadly the majority of those beautiful cars protect corrupt portions of humanity…"

"It protected my angel…" Edward said almost as if he were in a dream, the tone in his voice was strange for him; there was no 'velvet' in it. "When her Chevy finally went and kicked the bucket so to speak…"

"There's no limit with you and money… how do you sleep at night knowing you're cheating…"

"I rest in luxury…" of course he was joking, the look in his eyes said it all as well as the way his hands were positioned. I didn't need an ability like Edward's to read someone; their posture was like a book in itself. He gave me a crooked smile, and I thought how many times Bella Swan had seen his smile, more than I had seen them. "Are you all right? Your mind it just decided to hush for a moment…"

"Oh…" I chuckled. "I just thought of something," I said there was no point in hiding my thoughts from him, he could read my language just fine as well. "She was very luck to have you…"

"True…" he said in a low whisper.

Before long we were on the other side of the street gracing down the sidewalk with a pace that seemed to make time stand still. The rain began once again, as we reached the coffee establishment. It was warm in there, and the place had dim lights as well as several booths that were covered in shadows. It was our 'hang out' place after sessions or just talks in general. We were never bothered when we went in considering Edward had been a local favorite for some time now, his tips were _too generous_ for my liking, but he always told me that it was because he wanted to.

"Chivalry isn't dead…" I said laughing.

He paused for a moment watching me as I ordered something. I always did order something out of politeness to this establishment, it was mellow and they provided what I thought was excellent customer service. The young Cullen sat in a booth somewhere far way from the rest of humanity, with his brown raincoat on a small rack next to the booth, and my extra umbrella at his side. His disarrayed hair was slightly dripping down his face and I could see him move a pale hand over one side of his cheek, almost as if a person were drying their eyes after crying.

I walked down the area with some ease, holding a cup of coffee in my position. I breathed in after what seemed like hours, and the scent of the warm liquid sent me back to a happier time, I shook my head and took my seat next to Edward. He was staring at the cup in my hand, watching the creamy liquid for a moment, there was no reflection in it because it was too thick with cream and sugar.

"I thought…" he paused for a moment and sighed. "I get it… you do it for the experience…" the Cullen boy leaned back in his chair, hearing the music that was playing from within the establishment.

It was warm, that heat from that small cup radiated towards my hands and I toyed with the warm feeling before it left, I let a warm hand touch my cheek and then let the cup hover over Edward's exposed hand. He scolded me but I didn't mind, I was having fun in a strange way.

"The heat leaves our bodies quickly…" he said almost trying to sound cold. There was a strange expression on his face though as he spoke. "It reminds me… when she asked if she developed my picture…"

"I remember," I said and nodded politely letting him continue, but that was all he had to say. With that I decided to explain myself a bit more. "I do it for the memories the liquid brings back…"

"Memories?" he asked, he raised an eyebrow. "Are you telling me you're willing to open up to a friend now?"

"Somewhat, I'll only tell you one thing…" I said toying with the warm cup again. The heat would soon leave and it would be cold all over again. "My mother, when I was younger she made me _café con leche_ at the age of 3 and I grew addicted to caffeine…"

"I can see how that turned you into the person you've become now…" he said, again there was a smile on his facial expression.

"Yes, well we know why I'm short…" I said shaking his head. "That's not the point though dear Cullen, that memory is fuzzy, and I can only remember drinking coffee with my father once because that was something that genuinely struck my heart… That's all I'm telling you though."

"That's why you purchase it… to relive the past?" he asked. Edward tilted his head for a moment. "It's strange, but then again you're not normal by _those_ standards…"

"What about her? How did she act once… well you know?"

He didn't say anything and decided to change the subject once again, he wanted to keep that matter to himself, and maybe someone like a friend would not be able to obtain even a faint hint of an answer. The other Cullens would know, but I couldn't ask them considering I was treating this as my own personal case.

"Why didn't you…?" he asked, taking the cup away from me. It was still full of the caffeinated liquid.

"I have my reasons…" I said softly. The heat didn't seem to fade for a while now. "But they are ones I like to keep for myself, if you know what I mean."

Time passed and before long it was time for us to go 'home' in a sense of the word. He offered to drive me back to the apartment I had not that far from the coffee shop and I agreed, it was the least that we could do out of the goodness of our hearts. The rain stopped, but there were gray clouds as far as the eye could see. Along with that there was the smell of damp earth that would be stained into my memory.

"Rainforest…" Edward muttered and I sighed for a moment closing my eyes. That was useless but it was habit.

There in the distance I could see Edward's Volvo, his S60R. I shook my head and thought back to how the Cullens gained their money and in a way Alice and Carlisle were the breadwinners of the coven from what this boy had said. Despite that notion I still wanted a ride home.

"This isn't professional of you…" Edward said opening the door for me as I helped myself in. I blinked and noticed that he was now in the driver seat, the door had closed not that long ago as well. "So why did you agree this time?" he asked, starting up the car with a flick of his wrist.

"The weather…" I responded flatly. "But it could also be that I wanted to spend time with my friend…"

"Fifty percent of that state is true…" he said as the car pushed itself to its limits.

I gave him a simple thought of where I lived and he memorized which street to go on in an instant. He was somewhat interesting, but to me he would always be ordinary for some reason. I would see girls hold their breaths or just look at him with desire. Some of them were genuine others were just in it as to have him as another trophy on their walls. We could read people without even saying a word, my thoughts were his reassurance.

I thought back to the empty coffee cup we had left there, after collecting our items from the small rack that was stationed by the booth. Even as the liquid was decreasing there was still no reflection, and at the end of it all that was left would be a cup, lukewarm, cold, or piping hot sometimes. Could the heart be like that, so murky and yet it could be neutral like Switzerland, cold, or even passionate about something?

"We're here…" he said softly and I found myself outside without his help. I heard him mutter something under his breath and I shook my head. "You… want… me to stay?" he asked almost in disbelief.

"As a friend, just for the night, of course neither one of us is going to sleep…" I said running a hand through the bangs that covered my face. The rain was making the conditions of my hair unbearable; at least I was acting somewhat normal today. "Though if you decide not to stay I won't hold it against you… I understand where you're coming from."

"You… do?" he asked. It was called to my attention that he seemed relived that I had said it.

"Need I remind you?" I asked looking at him.

He was by far taller than me, and I remember once he told me that I was a little taller than his angel, Bella. Which brought another curious though in my head, I couldn't really fathom as to why Edward said that Bella found his voice irresistibly 'sexy' I couldn't hear the velvet in his voice, probably because I did consider him as a friend, but still I asked myself what if I'm doing this out of more than just the act of a friend?

A best friend perhaps, in a sense that I want him to overcome what is ailing him, and we have time, at least he might have time considering well I told him I would help him till I could not go on, but then who would help him if my time was up? '_I have to do this soon, and he's been wondering when I'm going to proceed as well… I can sense it in him…_' I thought and said.

"Would you be ready?" I asked looking at him. He was unearthly compared to the color of his Volvo.

"Our sessions have been preparing ourselves for this, am I right?"

"Well _you_ haven't been making my job easy you know…"

"I apologize wholeheartedly, you know that… but it's been… rather difficult…"

"Point taken I suppose Edward…" I said sighing for a moment. My mind was calm now and my body felt cold despite the end of the rain. "Edward, would you be so kind as to close your eyes for a second…?"

This was going to be a cruel awakening, but he had to have this done, he asked me to, I needed to do this to feel better as well. I just hope that I could pull it off, and hopefully it would help him, and if not I tried, but I would lose him as a best friend.

_**Is it the emotions or the illusions that I believe that makes me feel that I need to be with you?**_

And there she was, right there in the rain, it was pouring but somehow she didn't care about that. Her hazel eyes were on mine and for a moment maybe it was fear I felt. My goddess, my beautiful creature, but I knew that this was all part of the plan, and yet this was like a dream, a beautiful illusion I didn't want to ruin. I thought that if I spoke I would frighten her and she would leave. This would be the point where I would hold my breath. Her figure was genuine, there was no imperfection on her and I could smell her, her scent was intoxicating.

"Edward…" my goddess spoke, her voice was like a song from the heavens themselves, this wasn't a dream!

"Bel…" I felt my voice flatter for a second. "Bella…"

"Kinda looks like you've seen a ghost…" she said chuckling. "What's wrong?"

"I thought… that you would hate me…" I said almost ashamed, it was strange. "For what happened…"

"You know I could never…" she said walking forward. Her scent still lingered there even as she hugged me. "I've missed you…" she whispered.

"I don't know what to do Bella, even then…" I said, almost afraid. "When I… lost control I couldn't bring myself to accept what I did…"

"I'm not blaming you Edward…" Bella said looking into my eyes. Looking at her now like this I just felt more pain in my mind, but this was what I wanted. "I could never blame you for what happened…"

"If you hadn't stepped in you might…" she hushed me gently placing a finger on my lips. "Bella…"

"Please Edward, don't talk like that, okay?" I could tell she was trying to make me feel better, but this all felt out of place, and yet I didn't care. "You know, I watch you. Everyday silly, I can see you here without difficulty, and it kind of upsets me, knowing how you're living out your life Edward…" I didn't' say anything and I let my angel continue. "I know you said you would die if I died because there would be no point in living in a world without me, but… come on Edward be realistic, just a little bit. There could be hope…"

"No… there isn't hope Bella…" I said stroking her hair for a moment and taking in her scent. "You were my hope… my everything…"

She groaned for a moment and sighed:

"Edward I want you to be happy! H-A-P-P-Y… you've got your family with you and friends to help you along the way and I don't want to bring you down… I know you tried to protect me that day, and I wanted to protect you…" she gave a fake laugh trying to cheer herself up. "Some rescue mission that turned out to be… Even being a vampire there was always a risk… But hey come on I saved you didn't I?"

I stayed motionless, this was her at least I thought it was, I couldn't read her mind so maybe I had passed on into the next life or something close to it. But that couldn't be it I was outside and now I'm still here with her outside, as if she was still in the flesh.

"Live your life, please don't live it as if you died with me that day…" she said stroking the side of my cheek. "You have those who want to reach out to you, am I right?" she tilted her head noticing something. "Did you really stop playing the piano because of me?"

"…" I looked away and breathed in once more.

"This isn't the gorgeous and protective Edward Cullen I married…" she said softly. "He would find a way to compromise, right?"

"Compromise…" I echoed for a moment.

"Please Edward move on with your life, for your sake." She said softly kissing the side of my cheek. I couldn't control myself and I kissed her. Just to feel her against me for that one small moment, to hold her carefully as if she were made out of glass. They were emotions I bottled up for so long. She kissed back with the same passion and smiled, it was a genuine smile. "Now, can I rest easily?"

"I just can't let you go like that…" I said cupping her face with both hands.

"I know that silly, but hey a little day by day things will get better you'll see, and who knows I might see you on the other side…" maybe she was just trying to make me feel better but she knew how I felt about vampires and their damned souls. "You'd better not screw this up you know…"

There was a flash of bright light and just like that she was gone. Her image forever stained my memory and somehow I felt somewhat at ease, but it was complete, I just wanted to hold her for a little while longer. I turned slightly and noticed that my car was still there, but my friend had disappeared somewhere. I breathed in and noticed a figure sitting quietly on the steps ahead of me. Her umbrella was back in her hands now and I looked up, I could picture Bella's smile as clear as day.

"Have you been hiding there this whole time?" I asked her and she nodded slightly.

"I take it she had a couple of insightful things to say?" her tone seemed rather genuine at this point as if she truly did care.

I nodded and she looked away, losing herself in a memory. There it was, as loud as thunder, a group of some sort running through the rainforest and a blood-curdling scream. If I were still human I would cringe at the fact that her mind could reproduce the sound of breaking bones. There was a loud scream and soon it died with a sob following after. A voice from a strange language and still the figure was sobbing. She had done well to block out the faces, most of her mind did that as a defense mechanism.

"Today is the day my family passed away…" she said licking her lips for a moment. Something else triggered her mind. '_More coffee?_' I thought to myself and rubbed the side of my head. "When it would rain back in my country my mother's side of the family would cook these little yucca dishes with homemade syrup and we would drink it with warm beverages… rainy days remind me of that…"

She was in emotional pain, I could tell, and still she didn't say anything, she was trying to act strong, just like Bella. Always putting others in front of her, that was my Bella for you. This was hard, for both of us a professional treating me as a friend and a patient treating the professional as a friend, she didn't have to do this, but she had all the patience in the world, like that of a saint it would've driven Bella crazy.

"What did she say?" she asked.

"You weren't paying attention?" I asked looking at the side of her coat, a small droplet of water collected itself there. I looked back up at her and she shook her head.

"It was between you and her…" she said blinking for a moment. "So what did your angel say?"

"Compromise…" I echoed once more. "Live life as if she didn't die…"

"It shouldn't be that hard…" she said stretching for a moment.

"Again as I've said before…"

"You haven't lost some…" she said alongside my voice. "I know that Mr. Cullen, you've expressed it over and over again over these past two months, I could tell when you're ready to say it because your right hand twitches a bit…"

"Have you really been reading body language?" I asked.

"You are no exception…" she said. "You're not a god Edward…"

_**You and I, we are friends are we not?**_

Days passed since that event and he talks a bit more now, still it's not what the imaginary Bella had hoped for, but it would have to do since I try not to do the same thing twice. And there it was I found the 17 year old Cullen sitting on a black colored bench gazing at the ivory keys that somehow held no expression in them. I didn't play that well like this little 'genius' but I knew a thing or two about pianos, but bass wasn't my favorite part of it.

"I didn't think you would come today…" I said lazy moving towards the leather couch. "Considering the excuses you were throwing left and right days ago."

"I still need someone to talk to…" he said letting his left hand hover over a couple of keys.

"What about Jacob?" I asked hearing a melancholy tune emit from my black colored piano.

"He's up in Canada last time I tried making contact, but I think… well let's just say we aren't exactly friends, but it would be a good excuse to fight him after what he did to Bella…"

I mused over that fact for a moment, but there was nothing I could do, it just made me smile, to know that he was capable of feeling jealously after all of that. He was living in his own way at least that was enough to ease my mind.

"Meh, I would've done the same thing in Bella's shoes…" I said looking up at the ceiling for a moment. "If I could respond to those _urges_…" it was at that point I felt my hand twitch for a moment and somehow Edward played a sour note on the piano, and it was a shame considering that the melody was beautiful.

"What?"

"Abstinence…" I responded flatly. "You better not go and tell the rest of your family… or anyone else!"

"You are joking, right?" he asked. I knew he was old fashion and somehow he believed that I was a modern girl, was he ever wrong about that thought.

"Yes well… for you it would be… well okay let's try it like this. If Bella were still human when the two of you did engage in the action of showing your love for one another, with passion set ablaze… that would be necrophilia. Good lord Edward, you got lucky… she agreed to doing that the old fashion way."

"It's always the quiet ones…" he said, with some hint of laughter in there somewhere. "Didn't really think you were capable of thoughts like that…"

"There's a lot you don't know about me Edward, and I of you so I think we're even, right?"

"Still… I want to know why, why didn't you join when you were given the option?"

That was his burning question, ever since a certain person had pointed me out of a crowd so long ago when that boy was still fresh. If I told him I would assume that I would get an answer to a question I asked of my choice, but knowing him he would try and dodge it seeing as his wounds were still trying to heal, I could entertain him with another story. Or maybe I could just make him wait, but that wouldn't be fair of me.

"I didn't partake in it because, well… that's not the life I want." I said softly. The piano seemed to echo the last chords he played out. "That should be more than enough of a reason Edward."

He didn't say anything, and I could tell he seemed a bit 'hurt' at my statement. He wanted me to open up just as I needed him to open up; probably he was trying to compromise something with himself. '_Exchanging information for more…_' I thought and sighed. Bella still sat somewhere in his mind, talking to him through the sheer result of daydreams he probably had. It didn't bother me, if anything it entertained me seeing as how I could tell what kind of daydream it was by the way his eyes seemed to flicker, or the way his hand moved a bit. Sometimes the body language would be a bit more than I wanted, like say how his shoulders would relax and he somehow had a longing expression.

Those were the expressions that pained me, his heart was still healing but it felt like the recovery wasn't going as fast. '_Give it time to heal…_' that was something that kept me going, and it didn't bother me that I wasn't paid for these sessions, considering I turned down his money time after time. But still it made me wonder, how long would he be clinging on to my help? How long would it be before he started abusing my abilities?

I shook my head, that wasn't the Edward I knew. That wasn't the friend I made some time ago.

"Edward…" I noticed him break out of his daydream. "Would you mind playing that Jyongri song, _Lullaby for you_?"

"I don't mind…" he said in that same tone of his.

"But… pretend Bella was here…" I said quickly. "Or else the piece loses all meaning with just the two of us…"

"Will you sing it for Bella?" he asked me. Up until now he never asked of me to do anything other than my job. I agreed and he started the tempo. "I think she would like this song… if she knew Japanese…"

I chuckled and heard the chords; he didn't play it with great speed as he tried to match the tempo of the voice. The words themselves even if someone didn't know Japanese would somehow stir something in the heart, just because of the voice it self and the notes that the singer would hit. '_May tomorrow be wonderful too…_' I thought letting those words stir something in my non-existent heart.

Could you hear this Bella, where ever you were?

Could you really see Edward, can you see him playing for you?

I wish she could answer, it would make things better, but she can't.

Will you be watching over him, Isabella? Long after my time is up?

I know you don't know what I'm singing to you, little Bella, but it's a nice piece. Almost as good as the lullaby he wrote for you, at least in my opinion. He's playing this with so much feeling little one, I really wish you could be here. You're the reason he's still alive, he could hear your voice long after that event, just like you could hear his, but he doesn't put himself in danger little swan.

He's trying as hard as he can to go with your wishes, he talks more now, and that makes me feel a bit happier. Until recently, I'll be honest with you Bella, I just wanted to give up, they take so much for granted it wouldn't matter if I passed on, but I couldn't leave my profession, and then Edward just decided to call my office out of the blue.

Though times like this makes me wish I could just close my eyes, and just escape reality, I envied you Bella considering you could do something like that some time ago. Why though, why did he have to come here? Answer that for me my dear Bella, did you tell him through one of his mild revelations? I might not get these answers considering you won't answer me but I wanted to at least try considering that's what some of my patients do.

'_You know Doc, you're taking things a bit too far…_' I could hear something, maybe it was my own conscious with Bella's voice. '_I want him to be happy, and well he mentioned once that you two use to be friends. I asked him why did he go and visit, we were supposed to go and visit you… as a family…_'

"STOP!" I yelled clutching my head. "Stop… stop…" her voice wouldn't leave me alone now. Maybe this was what they called a mental breakdown. Edward wasn't here now, considering he had to go eat, or feed whatever they called it these days. "Stop… please just stop…"

'_Then stop asking me questions…_' she said. '_Or was it because I hit a nerve… it must be true then you do-_'

"Don't be ridiculous Isabella!" I gritted my teeth for a moment.

'_Bella… call me Bella…_'

"You mother didn't rack her brain for nothing coming up with a name for you…" I muttered. "I can't believe I'm arguing with you…"

'_Yes, and you're losing Doc…_'

"Don't remind me… so what if I do?" I asked looking up at the ceiling; I was referring to another question. "What if you are right, then what?"

'_Help me… Come on, they don't call you the doctor for nothing, right?_' I could hear her let out a small laugh.

"I have to do your job for you?" I asked raising an eyebrow.

'_It should be good… considering your condition… with um, well you know,_' oh God even my own mind was bringing that up as well. '_For all you know I could be an illusion or the real deal…_'

Months passed, and it was probably over a year already since those events and we continued on with our normal lives, so to speak. He would drop by once a week and sometimes ask me to come with him and eat, but naturally I declined, my job was starting to take most of my time now and I didn't mind. People needed my help no matter how mundane their problems may have seemed.

Still I would find myself staring at the ceiling late at night, and I could imagine the bags under my eyes. That was the only time I ate, when I couldn't control my hunger anymore. But it wasn't bad, if anything it was quick and I was back home in less than an hour, though there were no deaths, at least _he_ taught me something valuable. '_What was that thing I told him about vegetarians?_' I couldn't remember but it would come back sooner or later.

'_You're falling for him…_' it was Bella's voice and that of my own.

"Can both of you be quiet…" I asked placing a cold hand on my forehead. "I'm trying to _rest_."

'_Riiight… come on Doc you know it's true!_'

Maybe it was but it would be most likely for all the wrong reason, only because he was my friend. Bella's voice was nagging about something and I groaned trying to drown out her voice but that was no use, if anything that just made her mad and she started all over again.

'_He'll take some time though… I mean he did just lose his angel…_' her voice said, I think she was feeling sorry for me. '_You pulled him out of a rut though, and I am forever in your debt Miss Doctor._ _Also thanks for the song!_'

I just wanted to kill myself right now; this really wasn't fair to my sanity. Still somehow I would get over this as well, and manage to take that event and laugh at it. Though right now I just felt like killing both of the little voices in my head, they were starting to nag at me, telling me to open my mind and stop acting stupid.

"Someone my status shouldn't even be dealing with something like this…"

'_And yet you are…_' Bella's voice sounded like it was teasing me. '_If you ask me I don't think you're going crazy…_'

"Because hearing that makes me feel so much better Miss Bella…" I rolled my eyes. "It's been almost a fucking year… go home already!"

'_No way, I like it here, and besides you have to keep your part of the deal, remember?_'

"Screw the bargaining we made… I doubt it'll work anyway."

'_Playing matchmaker isn't really my specialty… but come on; I know it when I see it!_'

I groaned again, probably hissing more than I needed to as a defense mechanism. I just let it go, I'd probably go and drop hints the next time he would come in, but that seemed as though I would just be wasting my 'breath' on him. He loved Bella, and probably that was the only love in his life. I was glad that he found someone he could love unconditionally even after death. Maybe I was an idiot for thinking someone could love another person after something like that.

_**Until this time is up I will not give this up, or on you**_

She was smiling a smile that could only make me think of one person, Bella. When she does act like that it means that she's had a good meal, and I'm glad. But somehow I see Bella in her more and more, and less of the good friend I came to know. Something's wrong then, she's not acting like Bella, but I want her to be, and it's absurd she can't replace her, but I don't want Bella's image to replace my friend either.

Again we found ourselves at the park, though there was no rain this time around. It was dark of course, and we were walking down a trail of some sort, it was her pick today. In a way sometimes I treat her like a child even though she could be older than me. I didn't ask her and she didn't ask me questions now, we just enjoyed the company. The fact that someone was there physically seemed to do the trick for both of us.

"…I bet this place looks ten times better when it's morning…" she said looking back at me. "Wouldn't you agree Edward?"

"We could have someone take a picture of it… or we'll just come on a cloudy day." I said watching her move forward.

"You're doing better though…" she said softly. "Why are you still killing your time here, if you don't mind me asking…" I knew something was on her mind.

"Because…" I can't say I felt sorry for her because at one point maybe I would have said that to her. This time, it was because she reminded me of Bella, true she did not act like Bella or look like her, but there was something about her. "I'm curious about you… I know nothing of you as you know nothing of me…"

She grinned and let that sink into her mind. She was strange, then again she wasn't normal by human standards or by our standards. She was the good ol' Doctor of the soul in some way just like Carlisle was, almost as if Carlisle were female. Then that notion made me think, if someone fell in love with her, would that person fall in love with Carlisle as well?

"You said the rainforest once…" she said looking at a small flower that had fallen onto the ground. "You didn't read all of it, did you?"

"No, I didn't Atl…" I caught myself. There was a small smile on her face, she seemed pleased.

"It's the first time in a year that you've said my real name…" she said holding the flower in her hand now. It was a severed white lily. "You know, my mother once told me that if the gods would let her turn into a flower, she wanted to be a white lily because of their scent."

I let her speak now, and she told me a story of her homeland, how it was the largest conquering race of it's time in the New World before the Europeans invaded. She told me of their bloody rituals, and how she had to cope with it. Their religion was pessimistic with the Age of the Fifth Sun, and how that if they failed to offer the heart to their god their world would be destroyed. Their culture was richly decorated with gold and turquoise, feathers, and the sun, the very thing that exposed us. It was a paradise to her, and she told me of her fist encounter with a jaguar, and of a leopard. She had seen her world crumble before her eyes, and emerged as a different being.

"It was probably around the mid turn of the 12 century or so…" she said walking me through her history. "My family and I were running away from an invading party, but they were as fast as demons, their speed was not human. Their growls were beastly and they seemed so cold… they pitied me for some reason, considering they were only attacking the adults that were around me. I was only 60 seasons old when that happened…" she paused for a moment, and I could hear her thoughts, she was giving me imagery.

"You were 15…" I said, almost amazed. She seemed older than 15, which meant they kept her alive till she reached whatever age she was now.

"I still kept my name, once I reached 19… I kept their morals in top shape, and if they needed something I would help to the best of my abilities. I could be who ever I wanted with them, somehow fitting in and helping them cope. I think that trait passed along with me, using illusion to mold the world of who ever I want… it helps me deal with my clients… The Volturi gave up on me ages ago, considering I wanted nothing to do with them. I'm not pure, I did have human blood and it increased my power by the tenfold, but I knew it was wrong…"

At this point her mind was branching off and racing with other thoughts, it was making it harder to read.

"I had lost touch with my coven after the Volturi asked for me to join them, and when I finally tracked them down, a small coven informed me that the coven had vanished. No doubt that some trackers were out sniffing for some food and found them instead… Now, in this day and age I'm considered a prodigy with my own office, of course I still have some doctors there to overlook my work, but there's never been a need to call them in. Still I like having them know they are useful…"

"Atl relax your thoughts are starting to…" it was no use, I couldn't control the noise in her head, and somehow I could hear an ancient language, one I wasn't familiar with at all. Then I could hear Bella's voice now, something about a compromise, and I heard a scream that was enough to make me blink. It was the doctor's voice telling Bella's voice to quiet down. Was she losing her grip on reality already?

"I wanted to say thank you Edward…" she said softly. I didn't have time to react as she hugged me for less than a second. "We both wanted to say thank you, for everything."

'_We?_'

Could she really be referring to Bella now as her own conscious? Maybe her illusions were proving to be too real to her.

"I know Bella wants you to be happy Edward…" she said softly.

"I'm doing my best…" I told her. "You and she both know that…"

"I know…" Atl said rubbing the back of her head. "I want you to be content as well. Ah, but enough of that sappy crap… We were supposed to have a good day today, considering you're doing well with your sessions. I'm sorry if I ruined the majority of the day with this." That was Atl for you. She acted like that after she feed, it was very apparent; she was sort of like a content child. "No coffee this time, we're just going to walk through this trail, and see where it ends."

"Walk, normally?" I asked humoring her. "You do realize that dawn would rear its ugly head once we come back."

"I know, which is way I'm going to give you some lessons from the old days." She said, somehow I think her sanity was starting to slowly fade.

"I think I'll pass…"

"Suit yourself Mr. Cullen," Atl shook her head for a moment and looked up at the sky.

We were alone, just the stars above us and multiple trees that ran through the trail. There were different kinds of flowers scattered all about the trail, and the sound of running water off in the distance. To her this must have seemed like walk back into the old days, well to some extent.

Something else alarmed me, she wasn't reading my body language at all today, and somehow I had gotten use to the idea that someone else could read other people. Things were slowly changing, but I didn't know if it was for the better.

"You know Mr. Cullen, at one point I wanted to move to California…" she said, that strange part was that she was being truthful about it. "The heat there, reminds me of home… and sometimes I do get homesick…" she whispered softly. She point to a star with one long slender arm and finger. "My families up there somewhere, watching me from afar with our ancestors…"

She seemed content now, and that made me content as well for some reason. She would ramble at times, which made me smile considering I could tell how she still longed to be human. She had taken with her the compassion she had for life, especially for vampires considering they were the first ones who were able to established an emotional bond with the human known as Atl. Because of that, I saw Bella move in my mind, standing side by side with Atl.

'_I want you to be happy…_' Bella's voice wouldn't leave me, and somehow it seemed to grow louder when ever I was around the doctor.

I knew that if I left Bella for a second time that she could move on, but I wouldn't. Instead Bella left me for the first time and I still couldn't move on, it was out of my reason. I knew she couldn't come back, and that no one could replace her. She would always be my wife, my everything. Atl meant well and it was hard to see us acting like how I acted with Bella. There was something in the air around Atl, it was somewhat mythical, probably because of the time she lived in. Her whole world had been centered on rich language and tales as old as time in some way.

She was different, as Bella was different, but they weren't exactly the same. She wasn't clumsy like Bella, nor was she a brunette, she wasn't human when I met her. She's a vampire, one of my own kind who still wants to be treated like a human, and above all that I could read her mind, with some ease. Her mechanism was different from Bella's she could lie within her own memories, again using her ability of illusions. I could see why the Volturi would want someone of her ability it somewhat mirrored Bella's as well.

Bella could peer into memories, and manipulate them. Atl needed to directly establish some form of physical connection before creating an illusion, with that illusion the person could give her a memory. All Bella needed was eye contact and there she could use the soul's window and start her performance. There were differences on both of them, including skin color. Bella was pale to being with, and I had no problem with it. Atl was of a darker shade, probably brown or light brown when she was human, and her skin was somewhat lighter, almost tan or just a little darker.

There was something that made my mind wander, Alice told me something. It was basically around the same thing the Bella from my illusion said, not to screw this up. Had she seen something between the two of us?

She was looking at me for a moment, her dark eyes seemed to be reading my posture, I guess I had spoken too soon. She chuckled for a moment and shook her head, was she trying to reassure me of something?

"Let's just call it a day, and go home…" she said.

Her pale colored hand touched my shoulder for a moment. It triggered a memory from when I was watching television with Bella, there had been a commercial break and someone gave someone else a pat on the back, and in another frame someone else was given a pat on the shoulder. At least I knew what that meant.

"You're welcome, Atl…" I said softly walking beside her.

"No problem Edward…" she said and looked up at me for a moment, she gave me her own trademark smile.

**_A/N: _**I don't know if I should just end it there, but whatever take your pick people. And thank you for reading.


	2. They are called yolcatzitzin

**_A/N: _**I just wanted to take some time to thank OpaquexSmiles for that awesome review! It's reviewers like her that make my day. Well you guys enjoy!

**Chapter 2: They are called yolcatzitzin**

I sighed for a moment watching my last patients leave and somehow my own sanity was slowly starting to leave me as the door finally closed. It suddenly dawned on me, why I avoided others of my own kind, because it brought memories I buried deep within my mind. It doesn't matter now, considering that Edward somehow was an exception, along with his family to an extent. They were kind enough to try and make another vampire part of their strangely large coven, but like always I declined.

I looked around my office for one last time and notice a picture that somehow caught my attention. It was of an unsuspecting Edward Cullen, I didn't find him handsome or godly like what Bella would most likely say, dare say it I found him almost human. There wasn't a smile on his face, but I could tell by his stance that he seemed all right.

"You're wrong Mr. Cullen, we have a soul somewhere…" I whispered tapping the frame of the picture. "Your eyes aren't lifeless, and you still retain individuality…"

"Ms. Atl, who are you talking to?" a voice asked. It was one of the people within my office.

"Don't worry about that Monica, I'm just leaving a voicemail for a colleague of mine." I said snarling shortly after. I forgot to use my inside voice again. I hear her walk away and that was the end of that, at least for now.

I grabbed the small bag that sat underneath the brown official looking desk and I closed the crème colored blinds that permitted light to enter my office. I paused for a moment, and opened the blinds once more; using a quick step I locked the door to my office and stared at a single ray of light that seemed to be tempting me.

"I shouldn't…" I told myself, but I was still a child at heart, and I couldn't deny that feeling.

Before long my hand tried to touch the elusive golden ray of light but it was of no use of course. The only thing I saw was a strange glitter, but it was different compared to what I had seen of Edward's result. There was no real glitter for me, I wasn't like a diamond. The flesh from my hand began to turn as dark as night, and from that piece of colored flesh something seemed to rise out of it, a strange colored orb. There were white orbs fluttering about rising into the air and they soon broke off like million pieces of glass and they gave off some luster.

It was at that point I once again knew why the Volturi wanted me to join with them, illusion is something that can keep them amongst the living when the sun was at its highest. Instead of living with the pop culture of what the normal living considers normal for those of us they call the living dead. With that ability they could live a normal life so long as I resided with them, but that went against my nature even though they were almost considered the true 'family'.

"Maybe that's why you started this…" I whispered to myself, watching the black skin disappear as I drew back my hand. It returned to its natural skin color, well it was as normal as normal could be.

I let out a small puff of habitual air and shook my head for a moment, it was already time for me to leave and I was wasting time thinking as to what the Volturi were thinking. '_Just let it go, my minds getting wasted on a family overseas…_' that thought ran through my head and I laughed.

The cold brass seemed warm as I opened the door, and I thought back to when I dumped my coffee on the little green plant that was next to preferred booth of the establishment I considered great. Warmth, something we could never produce physically and we always take it for granted, now and then, and even still. Though it was a small price to pay considering we were now the stones in the river of time, we didn't move with the flow we just embedded ourselves at the bottom watching time move over our heads.

"I use to roll the dice, feel the fear in my enemies' eyes…" I sung to myself and left the office with a gentle movement, the wooden door closed behind me and I found myself outside the office. I looked up and noticed the sun was starting to come out of the clouds. "People couldn't believe what I've become…" I hummed to myself and walked out into the sun.

Edward's voice wasn't far behind, and neither was Bella's and for some reason I couldn't explain they spoke in a daydream. I wanted that to happen in the here and now but that was asking a miracle, he described her death and there was no hope of her coming to life again. Necromancers couldn't reconstruct her body to its glory, and then there would be the issue of memory loss, that would crush him. And her soul, where did it go? You couldn't call it back if it was happy on the other side.

The sun hit my shoulder, and I probably should've stopped going but I kept on walking. Illusion was a key for survival and the world wanted it, to try and fit in to any environment or situation. For this I tried not to dwell too much on what I could do, because it wasn't real it was all just smoke and mirrors within the minds of people. '_I'm not really helping then… am I?_' I asked myself looking up at the clouds, they blocked out several rays of warmth.

'_You shouldn't think like that, it's not healthy,_' Isabella and Edward's voice mingled into my thoughts, and a smile crept up this ungodly face. '_Besides you are making people happy, you can make them forget about their life if even for a second._'

"I'm lying to them…" I whispered walking amongst some of the people.

They eyed me slightly and looked me up and down, and for a second I felt paranoia, was my form exposed? I looked down and watched the feet around me move with distinct styles that their owners had. Some wore sandals, shoes with straps, the latest pair of Converse, or Vans, some wore little ballet shoes, or opened toed looking sport shoes. Everyone was struggling to maintain individuality in a world where image seemed to rule them all. Maybe I wasn't an exception to the rule either considering I still lived, physically and spiritually despite what Edward might say.

I looked up and noticed people move with fluid motion, it made me long for the days when man was one with nature, before war and disease had touched the land of our ancestors. I sighed once again as it was a habit and walked past the coffee shop, I could kiss those days goodbye now. The conquistador Cortez meant nothing wrong, but he caused trouble to many of my people he didn't mean to do us harm but he did. That notion made me realize that it was rare when I found someone like us, especially when they were from that time period.

With that thought I understand why Edward wants me to join his coven, because vegetarians like us need support but he can see that there's no harm with my logic. And with that I walked on already set to go back to the abode to try and at least relax if even just for a little while. It was risky, considering all the different scents that were around me, I could snap at any moment considering that hunger was nipping at my heels some time ago. It was risky, and it was something that even Carlisle would frown upon.

'_You shouldn't starve yourself…_' Bella's voice gently soothed my aching thoughts. '_I don't think Edward would like to see you at your worst…_'

"If he were my friend he would be there through thick and thin, right?" I looked up and noticed the sun shining down on a small section; soon my body would pass through it. I could hear Bella say something towards what I believed was an agreement. Before long this body passed through the sunlight and left behind nothing just like it was meant _not_ to do, we were different from the living.

I found myself on the steps that led to the apartment and just sat there. There was no point in going inside for right now, there was nothing waiting for me except the television and the piano, a couple of messages from my patients or co-workers, and just more mail. I breathed in just taking the time to recognize the scents of what was around me. For a moment a memory played out in my mind, the day that Bella and Edward were talking.

Edward still swears that somehow I was standing next to him, how else could he explain the image of his beautiful angel standing before him? It was all in his mind, I just pushed it along. So then why won't he accept that? Is it because he doesn't want to believe that his own subconscious was telling him to move on? He wasn't hopeless, no that wasn't it, he was just in pain.

"Things will get better…" I whispered into the empty area. "You'll see…"

Still I keep thinking that he'll stop coming and then I'll be alone again, left to deal with the problems that society has to offer and then watch how it affects the youth of today. I have enough emotional strength to deal with that, but should the Cullen boy go and just leave without a reason then of course I would have a right to feel crummy. He's given me strength whether I want to accept it or not, we've given each other strength.

"I should eat…"

There was still one more day of work, I couldn't take a leave just to go and feed, the family still needs me. Monica couldn't deal with the family counseling considering she has almost no patience for children, and for her emotional well being. I could still manage a day or two and then I would go and feed. With that thought in mind I could relax and felt the concrete that rested underneath my palms. There was a small ant moving across the surface, searching for the trail of its colony with its antennae.

My gaze moved up and around me there were bushes that were assorted with different flowers. I smiled for a moment watching a white color lily in the distance, I planted those for my mother some time ago. '_I wonder if you would have approved of what I became?_' that was a question that would never have an answer. One still guesses what a mother would say, so long as they could see their child happy, but it made me wonder if I was leading a good life, so far I thought from what I say that I was doing fairly well.

I leaned back resting on my elbows and looked up at the moving clouds, days never seemed dull considering everyone had something to do. True at times it would feel repetitive but things had to be done. I muttered something in my original language and felt at ease for a second. Something moved a bit in the small pocket from my bag and I sighed.

"It's probably another emergency…" I whispered. I rarely made house calls, unless if it was something serious. I flipped open the phone and greeted them. "Hello, Ms. Atl speaking…"

"Hello Ms. Atl…" I gripped the phone slightly.

"Mr. Cullen, what brought this occasion?" I asked.

"Nothing, I just wanted to chat, is that all right with you. I mean as one doctor to another…"

"Not at all Carlisle…" I chuckled for a moment and decided to make myself a bit comfortable against the entrance of the building. "So, how has the hospital been?"

"Same as always, Atl just like it always is. I can assume that's the same for your profession as well?" he asked with a little chuckle.

"Yeah… family counseling is rather time consuming. That and considering that I have nannies making sure I don't slip up because of my age. Still you know I don't want to fire them they need to survive in this place as well." I said winding a strand of hair on my finger. "So how's the family?"

"They're doing fine," he said in a cheerful tone.

"Hold on there Carlisle, how did you get this number anyway?" I asked, my hunch was probably right.

"Edward…" he said without missing a beat. "I was tempted to actually drive down to your office."

"Why didn't you? You could have brought Esme and we would've gone out or something, you know and enjoy the sunlight!" I said laughing. I heard him laugh on the other line, it was a genuine laugh considering that was something he wanted to do more than anything in the world. "Well if that's the case, then maybe I should drive down there some time…"

"I thought your car was in the shop?" he asked curiously. "Don't tell me you lied to poor Edward?"

"A little fib now and then is good Mr. Cullen, considering that I needed to spend time with him…" I said pausing for a moment. "You know I really wish Edward wouldn't tell you what he knows when he talks to me, it kind of ruins the surprise of many things I want to tell _you_."

"All right, I'll just pretend that he never told me," he said, he knew how to please someone. "How have his sessions been going?"

"Well considering now that it's once a week, and a little over a year he's doing fine," I said informatively. "I'm glad; watching him smile from time to time can really change a person. I'm beginning to slowly understand why you do what you do. Especially with the children that I help, that's always life changing."

"Though, you've been doing your professions longer than I have been," he said. "I suppose the mind of one does work differently. You know Atl, I'm sure Edward would enjoy it if you dropped by for a visit," he said. "You could go hunting with us."

"I'd like that…" I found myself saying. I couldn't stop the words the seemed to flow right out of me. My body reacted two seconds after placing a hand over my mouth for a moment. "Just give me some time, I still have a couple of more cases…"

"That's understandable," Carlisle said. He understood how important a job like this was. "Well I should get going soon Atl, it was nice talking to you again."

"Same here Carlisle! We should do lunch…" I chuckled. I could hear a female laugh in the background. "Did you have me on speakerphone?"

"My finger probably just slipped on the dial button…"

"Very smooth Mr. Cullen, very smooth. Well tell the rest of the family I send my greetings. You know where to reach me Carlisle, so until next time."

"Goodbye Ms. Atl, have a nice day."

"And to you and your family, goodbye Mr. Cullen."

The call was done and I safely placed the cell phone back in to the pocket of the bag I had just pulled it out of. That talk did soothe out my mind and it was enough to let me wander back into the apartment. Through a swift motion I was back inside my home and found myself lying on this comfortable looking bed. I wasn't tired or sleepy, just plain old fashion hungry.

Clothes were on the floor, a simple long skirt and a matching shirt a regular piece of professional attire. Black colored flats and a clip for my hair were somewhere amongst the mess of rags. The door of my apartment was locked and I felt secure but empty in a literal sense. I should be out eating, but I could not until I at least squeezed in another day or two. I could handle it, but my instincts were about ready to fly out and lash at the next person.

'_You can do this, you've lasted longer…_' I thought to myself. It was true but also very stupid.

_**Am I part of the cure, or am I what ails you?**_

"Edward…" there was a voice within the confines of the home.

It wasn't my imagination this time around and so I sought out the voice. Within seconds I found a familiar short haired individual. She seemed worried, her thoughts were racing if she should tell me or not and suddenly for some reason a song popped into her head. She obviously didn't want me to read her mind.

"What's on your mind Alice?" I asked watching her pace back and forth for a moment. "Alice?"

She wasn't responding for a moment and it was starting to make the gears in my head turn, something was wrong of course. She shifted uncomfortably for what seemed like an eternity. Out of habit she drew in breath and tried to calm herself down. '_It's probably not that serious…_' she thought, but the expression on her face proved otherwise. Her small body found a place on the couch and she slumped down for a moment and looked at me.

"She's not eating…" she said in a whisper. "Maybe it's nothing but… it has me worried…"

"Atl…" I said under my breath and looked away. "She's probably waiting to finish at least one more case before she can have her days off…"

Alice tugged at the hem of her skirt for a moment and somehow her mind stopped racing. At least right now the girl was calm and her mind wasn't wandering with worry. That kept me safe as well but still when Atl would pull something like that it made me worry considering we had seen the affects of what starvation would do to one of our kind. Then again she was a different vampire, and each one had their own lifestyles, she was probably use to fighting off hunger for longer periods of time, but still it was a risky and foolish move.

"See, I told you it was probably nothing…" Alice said trying to cheer herself up once more. "It's pretty risky though, isn't it?"

"Very, but I've been around her when she was hungry and she's not like us." I told her and somehow she tilted her head that was enough to get her curious about the permanent 19 year old vampire. "She doesn't seem animalistic…"

"You know you talk about her, but you've never invited her over…" Alice said crossing her arms over her chest. "Why don't you?"

"I've tried…" I said trying to brush this off. "But she's stubborn."

"That's doesn't count!" she almost scolded me. Her eyes were lit and she was thinking of a way to try and get me to ask her once more. "You've got to be more persistent with her, you know… just like how you were with Bella…" her voice seemed hurt almost. "I know Bella would tell you the same thing."

I tried to not let it get to me, thinking back to all the sessions I had with the good female doctor and somehow it seemed to work a bit. Still I couldn't help but think back to the illusion session, when I was able to feel Bella in a hug, to kiss her back and have her do the same. '_What would you want for me, Bella dear?_' I asked myself and somehow I could only manage to think that she would want for me to be happy.

She rubbed the back of her head and laughed sheepishly for some reason, probably because I didn't seem as upset as she had thought otherwise. Slowly but surely I was getting over this, but it would be long before I would take off my wedding ring, one step at a time just like Bella and Atl said.

"Oh, Carlisle was talking to some a couple of minutes ago…" Alice said placing a finger under her chin. "He seemed like he knew that person…"

"…" I shrugged for a moment and thought about it some more for just another moment. "Well he probably talked to Atl, I suppose. I mean they haven't seen each other in ages…"

"Who doesn't she know?" she asked.

"She's traveled a lot…" I said softly. Even in Alice's eyes she seemed like a mythical being of some sort. "She's nowhere as old as Tanya's coven though. She's about more than seven hundred years or so…"

Alice let out a small puff of fake air and blinked for a moment, trying to fathom how a being could not be bored of life already. She asked more about her and I tried to recollect from my mind the stories that the good doctor had told me. She was like a living storybook in the mind of Alice from what I could tell. And there we were, a girl wearing a black skirt and matching shirt with a red tie, curled up on a dark upholstered couch listening to the jean and shirt wearing narrator.

"Have you heard her speak?" she asked interrupting me all too quickly. "Nahuatl, that's their language, right?"

"Nahuatl?" another voice chimed in, almost as if he were expecting their cue.

"Yes Nahuatl, Jasper that psychologist is from an Aztec tribe." Alice said.

I watched the other jean wearing individual walk into the living room and he seemed to look at me for a moment. '_He must of gotten close to her then…_' he somehow brushed off the fact that I read his mind and decided to sit on the couch's arm rest next to Alice. He asked more questions along the line of the Aztecs trying to see how much I knew of her but most of what he asked was best answered by her.

"I haven't heard her speak Nahuatl…" I said, more in a tone of disappointment now.

"I doubt you would, she has no one of her own kind to speak to," Jasper said with a look of regret on his face. "And even now, if a regular person speaking Nahuatl were to hear her speak their dialects would be different." He almost seemed indifferent but he cared and more than likely was interested in that fact. "It's pretty interesting though, she's like a living piece of history."

"Jasper…" Alice's voice was stern.

"Somehow I doubt she would be offended by that…" I said trying to back him up. "She'd be flattered."

Jasper gave a small smile and looked back at Alice she seemed to peer off into something that none of us could see. After what seemed like ages she snapped back into reality with a small smile on her small face. Somehow there was a look of mischief that we all knew too well and I was afraid to ask what she had just seen. I slumped back against the couch and tried to think of what else to do, I had listened to several tracks that the good doctor had recommended and played _Lullaby for you_. There was something else that I had to do, but somehow that slipped my mind.

Thinking to what I was suppose to do I turned my head slightly to the side and noticed that I was alone again. Alice and Jasper probably left to go and just converse about something, probably what she had seen in her vision. Emmett and Rosalie left on a little errand somewhere, she was talking about getting some parts for a car she had recently purchased. I was tempted to try and drive it, but somehow Rosalie could be deadly should push come to shove so it was best to ask her for permission before she would try to assault me. Unlike Alice I had no reason to try my chance at auto theft.

I looked at the clock at was among the restored items that my _mother_ had taken great care of. It was a little past six o'clock now and probably the good doctor was resting or at least trying to get her mind off of the hunger that was attacking her very mind. I read her mind once while she was hungry, and it seemed to branch off like crazy. One minute she would be thinking about a case and then it would jump to something like a pizza and if she thought of the texture it would jump to something she had seen recently and there was no mention of blood in her thoughts.

It was strange to me considering how extreme her actions were, but she did it for the sake of trying to help those who were in far greater need. She showed her compassion far beyond what was asked of her, even making house calls, and sometimes our sessions would be cut short if she felt the need that one seemed to need immediate attention. Especially when it was a child that seemed to suffer more, that's where it was most evident.

Even Carlisle could tell me that she had a weakness for children, they had worked together once, but the female doctor decided to leave for reasons unknown to him and myself. She was motherly like Esme, and she had enough emotional strength to deal with cases like that. She told me once about how there were children who were abused, or who suffered emotional damage, pretty much almost anything. I wouldn't be able to tolerate something like that; most likely I think I would snap.

'_He seems happier now, so that's good, and Esme is starting to slowly recover as well, still maybe a grievance counselor… no that wouldn't do. We might have to get her here, I know that's not her line of work but…_' Carlisle's mind was loud, flooding my ears and I blocked him out. So far Esme felt like part of her died alongside Bella as well; she didn't have anyone else to help her, at least that's what she thought. Carlisle was doing as much as he could but she would need time to heal.

Time, it heals the wounds but leaves scars as reminders.

I know that somehow a scolding from Bella or Carlisle would be in order, but I didn't have that now, my thoughts were allowed to run free, but with the female doctor she somehow knew even without reading my mind. It probably because my body language was too predictable, but Carlisle disagreed, he said it was a gift, considering she had lived with vampires as a teen it was instilled on her to watch their behavior as a part of survival.

Something was nagging me at the back of my head, it was what Alice had said, what she had seen in her vision. I peered into her mind, considering that she probably wouldn't tell me what she knew and I could clearly see Atl sitting against a couch watching television, and that scene changed to her curled up in a little ball resting on the blue bed sheets from her divan. It made me wonder if she lived her life like that on a daily basis, she was lonely, but then again even she told me that it was her own fault, always pushing others away.

'_She's fine…_' I thought to myself. '_She can handle herself, I've seen her before._'

Bella's voice suddenly started to nag at me as well, which surprised me considering I wasn't even around the female doctor. I could only hear her when I was around Atl at some points and Bella would always tell me to be a gentleman and try and not get upset or but a brave face on for her, and to take care of her like a good friend should. Bella was always looking out for me even long after her passing on.

Something broke the thoughts and I looked up for a moment past the entrance of the hallway. I breathed in and found the familiar scent of Emmett and Rosalie grazed my nose. They seemed to be talking about the price of a part, no doubt for Rosalie's automobile, somehow the deal seemed almost too good to be true.

"Just work your charm Emmett, I always tell you that…" Rosalie said laughing. "I probably could have gotten that price lower, but… well this price seemed reasonable as well." she said humming for a moment. "I can't wait to tinker with it on the new car."

"We should probably get Edward to give us a hand; he's been itching to see that car in action."

I froze for a moment hearing Emmett's statement and sighed for a moment upon hearing Rosalie's little scoff; somehow there was amusement in the sound that had escaped her throat. I was dying to know what kind of car it was, since she kept that secret from me whenever she saw me, and reading her mind was mostly filled with other things, she trained herself for a moment like that alright.

_**Awakening from a dream there is a violent reality**_

Something was pounding the back of my head; it wasn't because I was hungry that mostly didn't associate with that, call it a feeling. There was electricity in the air; molecules were swirling about as if something were happening. Whatever that something was, or is, it was starting to make my sense go into a state of paranoia, an event was taking place. I stood up and looked at the clothing I had on for a moment, a pair of black shorts and two sets of shirt layered up.

"_Tlein opanoc…?_" something seemed wrong as that question rolled off my tongue.

With a swift movement of pressure the sliding window opened slightly and I breathed in. Blood, the sweet metallic taste in the air seemed to bring my senses back. '_A child…? I hope they're all right…_' I thought to myself, and somehow I didn't ignore it. I focused my senses on trying to pinpoint the smell and it seemed to be no more than a couple of blocks away. Before long I only remembered closing the door to my apartment and locking it with the set of keys. I placed the metal keys safely within my pocket and walked out in a pair of sandals.

"_Ezotl…_" I muttered to myself walking the streets in a casual manner.

It was probably around 11 o'clock at night now and the fresh scent of ezotl, human blood, was something not to be over looked now. The smell was starting to increase more and more, which meant I was probably getting closer now. I growled for a moment sniffing the air around me and looked up at a nearby building. '_I found you…_' I thought hearing a small yelp, no doubt from the victim. I was running out of time.

I ran across the street and with my bare hands scaled the wall with unmatched speed, like a leopard or another other large ferocious cat. I gritted my teeth for a moment hearing the sob of what sounded like a small child, and somehow something snapped. The concrete that I used to hold on to somehow cracked under the grip I had on it. I was climbing up a white colored building; it seemed to be part of a housing complex of some sort, like a parking lot, considering I could see all the different types of cars stored from within.

Again there was another cry and I couldn't contain myself now. I landed on the roof within several seconds, and crouched down on the ground, scanning the area for the attacker. The scent of blood was everywhere, but I didn't act on hunger now it was out of anxiety it was unnerving. I looked back down and noticed we were at a considerable height. '_A parking lot has cameras…_' I thought to myself and snarled they might find me. I looked around the lamp posts that were there and spotted several cameras.

"Why aren't the security guards here?" I asked myself.

Unless if the attacker already took them out, then I wouldn't need to worry about being exposed and somehow that wasn't really the kind of closure I wanted. I looked around again and walked as quietly as I could, hunger would prevent most of the things that a normal fed vampire could do, especially with ripping a person to shreds, all I could do at this point was run.

"Ssshhh… don't make to much noise, you can scream when I bite…" the voice seemed as cold as ice.

There was another whimper and what appeared to be a muffled sob. Someone was covering the child's mouth probably using some amount of restraint; if that voice belonged to a hungry vampire the jaw would've been the first thing to go. I moved through the shadows ducking behind a couple of cars, following the scent like a bloodhound. It was sweet, and with that mostly came innocence. No child should go through something as horrific as that. '_I can make it time…_' I thought to myself crouching against a silver colored sport car.

I peered through the bottom, letting my face graze against the concrete and I could see two bodies huddled together, one belonged to a vampire and the other belonged to a child, roughly around the ages of 7 to 10. I could feel my hand dig into the concrete, what I wouldn't do to rip that idiot's head off.

"Someone's here…" the voice said, almost pleased. "They're probably hungry too."

The child muffled something, maybe a cry of surprise or fear. I stood my ground though, thinking more and more about it the only thing I could do for the child was to just escape with him or her, but fighting back was out of the option. '_I should've… but how was I to know this would happen, it's not my fault…_'

The vampire moved leaving the child unattended, probably trying to scout me out. I moved to the other side of the sport car, just letting my head stick for a couple of seconds from the rear taillights. It was the only way that the child could probably see me, but the smaller human being didn't do anything, maybe that individual was overcome by fear. From there, I could see the bloody handprints against a silver Audi RS4. I could feel the venom in my mouth and I gritted my teeth again.

"Come out come out where ever you are!" the voice was taunting me, kind of the way an adult would play hide-and-seek with a child.

I moved quickly on all fours trying to get closer towards the child. The little one's eyes never left my side they somehow focused on me, as if I were some strange new thing. '_It's a little boy…_' my eyes wandered back to the child, the light from a lamp post gave a good clarification on the little guy's figure. He was probably no older than 8 years old. The little boy seemed to be from a Caucasian family, light colored eyes and skin his hair was a little dark though, probably a shade of brown.

Something scuffled in the distance and I moved again, watching the little boy for 30 seconds could have put a damper on my little rescue. Only a couple of minutes had passed it wasn't even half an hour. The assailant moved quickly, treating this like a game, his hunger was increasing at a rapid rate. I hid behind a tanned colored Ford Explorer, the gas guzzling car was good for something.

The child was within reach now and I was ready to pounce. Somehow the little boy seemed good enough to eat but that wasn't why I came. '_Keep it together!_' somehow Bella's voice always picked a wrong time to butt in but surprisingly I owed her today. I crawled on the floor with some speed and found myself behind the child. With that action I was also closer towards the silver colored Audi, and I glanced at the red stains the child left behind. The child didn't say anything, could it be that the vampire already broke the little human's jaw?

The child would be mumbling out in pain, so that was thrown out of the question. There was another shuffle of feet and I looked around the vampire wasn't all the traceable now, his scent was moving further and further away. He was using it as a means to try and confront me, or maybe he thought this through thinking I would take the kid. I couldn't help it now considering I was only several feet away from the little one. He flinched for a moment feeling something on his arm and before long he must been ready to scream his lungs out considering he was in my arms.

"Quiet…" I whispered softly into his ear. "Or he'll find us… did he bite you?" the little one shook his head.

Hunger was really starting to take a toll on me, I couldn't run fast enough, and if I jumped a fall like that would break my leg, I had to literally run down the stairs for this. But there was no point, if I couldn't kill the other vampire what hope would there be for the little child? Should I just leave him, or try and protect him? And if push came to shove should I change him? He hadn't lost much blood considering the vampire was going to torture him.

The little boy was wearing a little black and blue stripped shirt with a little action figure logo on it, and some dark colored cargo like pants with light up sneakers. He seemed confused, every single human emotion that was possible to use in a situation like this. His grip was as tight as it could be, but it would always feel weak on my skin. I looked up slightly and flinched for a moment.

A tall looking figure probably around 6 feet or so stood several meters away. He could hear my words with ease and smell my scent, as I could to him. I didn't have enough strength to try a full on illusion, maybe create a couple of replicas, but that was it. The figure in the distance wore a dark colored outfit, almost like from a suit that a business man would don from time to time. There was blood caked on his hands, and I looked down for a spilt second, there were cuts on the boy's arm. One was dangerously close to the wrist, but it strayed off.

"So you're the little vulture…" his voice was but a whisper. "Come to steal my food?"

"Hardly…" I scoffed clutching the child in my arms. "He's just a child."

"But a delicious one…" he said in a tone that sent the little boy into a state of panic. "You can smell his blood, can't you?"

Up until now I hadn't breathed in, nor was I going to out of safety for the boy. Control was another key to survival and I might lose it if my hunger pushed me off the edge. The man walked forward, his features were visible now. A man with a thick Spanish heritage, he had black slicked back hair and piercing black eyes. There were visible bags under his eyes as well.

"Silent…" the man spoke again and laughed. "This should be interesting…"

I tried to control my anger and just moved back a bit. I didn't need to ascertain a direct connection with the male vampire for this. I muttered something and found myself crowded with multiple mirror images of myself and the boy. They weren't physical but they did the job after all. With that I ran as fast as I could, holding the boy tightly. The clones took the cue and moved about the same speed they could mimic. I breathed in for less than a second, his scent was moving in circles. The little boy clutched me harder as he could feel the speed hit his fragile little body.

We ran past sports cars, trucks, little European vehicles, and some that seemed rather old and rusty. I could hear the male vampire growl, he was probably ticked off considering he probably attacked one of the intangible clones.

"We're almost there…" I whispered as quietly as I could.

The stairs were almost in sight, and I was trying hard not to stop. This in any person's eyes was the most stupid, if not idiotic thing a vampire could ever do, try and outrun a hungry vampire while they themselves were running low on empty, so to speak. '_I'm not losing a child…_' I thought to myself.

The sound of crushing metal made everything stand still. That man wasn't far behind, and he probably wouldn't rest until he caught the two of us. The sound of breaking glass filled my ears, but that didn't make me stop if anything that fueled more of a reason to keep me going. There was a force, from where I didn't know but after hearing the glass break for a couple of seconds something slammed into me. My body moved violently across the area, and skidded on to the concrete floor, leaving a little crack from the impact on the man-made ground. The child groaned, and quickly scanned him to make sure he had no life threatening damages.

I sighed for a moment noticing that he was all right, but there was pain that entered the right side of my body. The leg seemed a bit twisted from the ankle and the arm had pieces of glass embedded into it, there was no blood dripping from the wounds. I couldn't manage to move, not at least until the wounds healed but without any blood in my system that was going to be down right impossible. There was a car door several feet away from where the attack took place. '_Get up, come on Atl move!_' Bella's voice was screaming.

I found quickly popped the bone back into place, the pain was excruciating and strange mix between a growl and a scream erupted from my mouth. I cursed left and right hissing like an angry cat. Somehow the sick vampire found this all amusing, he knew I couldn't do a thing.

"Just take a bite…" he said. "Or are you one of those revolutionaries?"

I stopped up, my right arm was somewhat lifeless, and the child still clung on to me for dear life.

"Just do it…" the little one said shaking. He was crying in between his little heartfelt speech. "He's going to kill you if you don't…"

"Listen to the boy!" the male said cackling. "He has more common sense than you do little one."

'_Don't joke with me you newborn…_' I thought moving to the side; I needed to go down those stairs. I could probably make it to the Cullen household if the vampire still wanted to play. Thought never in this lifetime would I ever take a bite out of any child, I would rather die than do something as vile as that. Robbing him at a chance of humanity was something that I couldn't do at all it was a transgression.

"I'll give you a three minute head start…" the vampire said with a very strange smile etched onto his face.

He was going to throw something at me if I moved without his consent, it was written all over his body. From what was seen and from his body posture he loved torturing his victims pretending to give them hope only to crush it from them and end their life without mercy, or regret.

"_Tlilhuantli cuitlat_!" I yelled.

_**Reality makes a dream of the impossible so that one day we make it possible**_

Something about all this was unnerving, Alice stayed quiet again. She was having another vision now and I tried my best to try and peer into it. There was a lot of commotion, yelling and different smells from what I could imagine. There was a familiar face from within the frenzy it was the female doctor. She pushed a child someone out of the way taking the full front of an attack. I snapped back into reality and looked away; somehow Alice's voice said 'not that far from here…'

"It's Atl…" she said softly looking back at the rest of the family. "She's in trouble. Considering she has not eaten she's in grave danger and that little child with her…"

"Child?" I asked.

'_She was fine hours ago…_' Carlisle's voice entered my mind.

"She probably interrupted someone's feeding…" Jasper said. "That could explain the child…"

"Is she coming this way Alice?" Esme asked out of concern.

"If she's got enough potency…" she responded quickly.

"She's not going to last long…" Emmett said.

Somehow all of use managed to move outside without any problem, we were all like one fluid motion. I breathed in catching a faint scent somewhere down the road. Jasper's mind was racing considering the little child had been injured during the rescue attempt. Any blood made his craving increase that was more than perceptible from the way his body was moving.

"She'll be coming in from the right side of the road…" Alice said point to the direction. "That's the only chance we have of taking down that vampire…"

We all nodded and waited for Alice's signal, or at least for the scent to increase. There was a snap somewhere in the distance and Jasper moved quickly; the scent of blood was finally here.

"Jasper, no!"

We moved through the area with speed that seemed to be considered ungodly and moved to the right side of the area just like Alice had instructed us to do so. Emmett held Jasper back as tightly as he could and we noticed a figure running through the area with a child in her arm. There was a vampire in a bloody business suit not that far behind. That was when we sprung into action; it was just Alice and I. The ground beneath us seemed to part ways slowly after we touched upon it with or increasing speed.

The familiar female vampire moved past us, and we each locked eyes with one another, she seemed completely worn out. '_Please…_' that was the only thing that seemed to echo through my mind from her thoughts. Alice had seen every possible move that the vampire could do and I read her mind in a breeze. Within the sanctuary of our mind we already had him beat in at least five possible ways.

The male vampire moved quickly on his feet and Alice jumped into the air. I moved on the ground lightly on my feet and watched Alice land a kick on the chest of the opposing vampire. She was agile and with increased speed her attacks could easily be deadly. The attacker moved back and tried to dodge another kick by moving to the side but he had to deal with blocking an oncoming punch. He growled for a moment clutching my fist in his grip, it was slightly weak from hunger.

There was a crack, not from my body but from his, Alice's foot pushed back an oncoming punch. It put him in a daze for a moment and somehow from out the blue a towering figure delivered a crushing blow on the vampire. Emmett grinned as the vampire fell to the floor for a moment. There was a crunching and ripping noise as the vampire was dismembered. It didn't make much of a challenge considering that vampire was weak from hunger, but at least it was over.

I looked back, there were blood stains on the green grass and the good doctor and Carlisle were nowhere to be found. Esme had gone inside and Rosalie had stayed outside with Jasper. I could relax for a bit, but still what was she thinking? I told her some time ago to just take a day off and feed, but she still refused. The end of the month was almost here and I had a feeling she was pushing her mentality past its limits. She told me once that she had gone weeks without eating when she had been in the rainforest with her 'tribe'. Weeks, that seemed hard to believe, but then again she knew of ways to get around even in the sunlight. Still that was irrational no vampire would put themselves and innocent humans in danger.

I found myself walking back to the house, slowly moving along the grass, there was luster of spilt blood on several blades of grass, it was hard to explain how she had avoided the craving to turn the little human boy into a snack. I walked along with Alice and Emmett at my side.

"She looked pretty bad…" Emmett said looking down at me slightly. "Her right arm and leg seemed to be in bad shape. He must have done a number on her before she came here. That kid was lucky that she was passing through when she did, poor little guy almost had a heart attack."

"She'll be fine Edward…" Alice said softly looking straight ahead. "She might get a scolding from both Carlisle and you, but she'll manage."

"She's a tough little cookie though…" Emmett said. "Not eating for a while, she's nuts."

"Well she is a psychologist…" I said rubbing the back of my head.

The flames behind us died down leaving no trace of the vampire that touched the area. At least now the good doctor and the little boy could rest in peace, but that still left many things unanswered. How did it happen? More importantly, something that was probably on her mind as well, did the boy have relatives living nearby?

"…" Rosalie didn't say anything, watching me for a moment and then her golden eyed gaze shifted to the inside of the house. The car would have to wait, and I doubt Rosalie would let me test it out for sometime, even if there had not been an incident. "She was starting to lose it. I mean she didn't attack the boy or anything she was speaking in a different language, almost as if she were telling the boy a lullaby."

The feathery honey blonde Jasper apologized and we didn't hold him against it, at least this time he waited for a couple of seconds before running off. Luckily for us Emmett managed to hold him down for a little bit even after the others had gone inside. Rosalie calmed him down as best as she could and it seemed to do the trick.

"_Tlachia in citalli, quenin petlanilitic ipampa amehuatl_…"

"There she goes again…" Rosalie said. "I wonder what she's saying…"

"That's Nahuatl…" Jasper muttered. "The Aztec's took pride not just in what they had in luxury but in the arts, including their language, that was something valuable."

Rosalie sighed and walked alongside Emmett and asked him if he was all right. Jasper and Alice were conversing about something, no doubt of our newcomer and they looked at me from time to time in their low whispers. I brushed them off and wandered into the living room, I was expecting to find Atl there but she wasn't. I had the section of this house all to myself. '_I'm so stupid…_' the good doctor's thoughts were buzzing in my head now. '_I could've killed him, or changed him, worse I could've been immobilized and let that idiot have this kid for a snack…_'

Her mind was racing, and I decided to keep myself occupied with something else for a little while. I didn't want to hear her guilty for a little bit, because in a way it would have made me feel guilty as well, considering I didn't visit her for our usual session. In a way though this was no one's fault things just happen, Bella once told me things did happen for a reason, even if we didn't know what it was. Of course she would always ask why things in her life didn't seem to go right; she would often forget the very thing she told me.

I found myself sitting on the same couch where I told Alice about the Aztec vampire and noticed my right hand gently touching the wedding band on my left hand. It seemed to shine in the light as I moved it side to side. That had been the happiest day in my entire life, the day I married her, when we exchanged vows to spend the ends of eternity together. I never gave up on her, especially when I changed her, the first couple of days were painful hearing her scream in pain, but she always told me that when I held her I made the pain dull down.

"What were you thinking Atl?" Carlisle seemed upset now.

"I'm sorry Mr. Cullen, I wasn't thinking…" she seemed to paused, she had fed more fuel to the fire.

"Of course you weren't thinking, you're practically starving, you could have risked that boy's life!" he said.

"If I had just turned a blind eye, he would've died…" Atl was in no mood to raise her voice. "What would you have done Carlisle?"

He stayed silent. He was more upset that a child was a victim, but still he fumed at the fact that she had not eaten, had she eaten things would have been different, and even she knew that. Though for all of us, except for Alice we had no way of knowing that something like that would even occur right under our noses. The entire clamor of the occurrence died down and I could hear the slightly sound of someone walking with sandals, it was an unmistakable noise.

She found her way to the living room and let out a small breathe, her gaze didn't meet mine considering she was ashamed. Carlisle treated her like a child, despite that she was older than him. The good doctor acted no more than the appearance of her age just now. She moved her gaze up a bit noticing something off in the distance; there was a sound a feeble little noise probably coming from the child she just saved. '_I hope Dominic's all right…_' that thought was as clear as day.

"What's his name?" I asked watching her expression change a bit. She said his name was Dominic Ulliel. "Esme's taking care of him I'm assuming." She nodded with my hypothesis. "What about you?"

She looked up at me for a moment and scoffed under her breath.

"Aside from being treated like a child, having to protect one, and being hungry like a bear…" she breathed in taking in all the different scents. "Surprisingly I'm still a bit sane. When I slip in and out of consciousness I speak Nahuatl from time to time," she explained the singing we all had heard earlier. "Dominic isn't speaking… I'm afraid somehow the experience will make him mute, and I'm going to have to see if there are any alerts for someone by that name."

"Take things slow Bella…" my system just froze. Her face didn't seem to break into a scowl or a frown, she didn't seem upset, but her mind said it all. "I'm sorry Atl…"

"It's all right," she said. With the sudden turn of her heel I thought the shirt and short wearing vampire was going to leave but instead she clutched onto her stomach. '_I'm so hungry!_' her mind screamed through the corridor of her head. She groaned and looked back at me, maybe she finally found her limit. "Just one more day…"

"No, you're going to have eat right now." I said standing up all too quickly. "You might not be able to handle your patients a second longer, let alone for a couple of hours."

"But Edward…" she didn't have enough strength to move my hand away.

I patted her on the head and chuckled for a bit. She pouted and huffed a bit, sort of like when a bird ruffled their feathers. She shook her head vigorously and moved back so that my left had was out of reach but she underestimated my speed. I chuckled feeling her hair against the left hand ring finger. '_I wonder if you really would like her Bella, you'd probably be mad at her, but you wouldn't give up on her either. That and well you'd probably be going crazy over the little boy more or so like Esme_,' I thought all to myself. She looked away as if giving me my space for reminiscing of what would have been.

"I have to go back to work Edward…" she said breaking my thoughts.

"Call in sick," I offered my proposition. "You need to at least get rid of some of the stress that your job brings anyway."

"Just one more day, I think I can make it!" she said. The bags under her eyes were telling me something else.

"You aren't a goddess Atl…" I told her.

"I know that, we're yolcatzitzin," she said. "It means, animals in Nahuatl ."

**_A/N: _**Well some random facts I guess... I don't know Nahuatl, nor do I claim to know I'm using the internet for this so for those of you who do know I know the translations are somewhat wrong, or completely wrong.

_**Tlilhuantli cuitlat** _- It means 'go eat shit'  
**_Tlein opanoc _**- It means 'what's going on, what's happening?'  
**_Tlachia in citalli, quenin petlanilitic ipampa amehuatl _**- It means 'look at the stars, look how they shine for you' a line from Coldplay's song Yellow.


End file.
